What’s the Brew Doing to You?

Is 1,3,7-trimethylxantine coursing through your veins?

Also known as caffeine, this helpful chemical can be found in many drinks (and a few foods), including tea, cola and ‘energy’ drinks, but good old-fashioned coffee is by far the preferred delivery method for Australians. We love it, and coffee loves us back: it makes us more alert, more productive and more energetic.

“Coffee is a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to your older self.” — Terry Pratchett

Where would we be without it?

Probably still in bed…or at the pub.

Before coffee was introduced to Europe, around about the 17th century, alcohol was the go-to beverage. So if you were catching up with friends, you’d drop by the alehouse and probably get drunk. But when coffeehouses started opening up, people would buy coffee for a penny a pop, and talk for hours without descending into a silly stupor — and they could remember it all the next morning, too!

In fact, coffeehouses played an important role in bringing about the age of enlightenment in Europe, as well as contributing to the development of newspapers and major commercial entities. Lloyd’s of London, now a leader of the insurance world, was originally a coffeehouse where maritime merchants would gather and discuss business. Coffee also fuelled the industrial revolution, keeping factory workers at their posts when they were hungry and tired.

Surely there’s a downside to this glorious productivity-inducing elixir?

Up until quite recently, it was thought that coffee adversely affects our health, making heavy coffee drinkers jittery and prone to stomach ulcers and heart problems. But things are beginning to change. In recent years, large studies have discovered that drinking coffee (about 3–4 cups per day) can actually be good for your health. As it happens, drinking coffee is good for your liver, and lowers your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart attacks, several types of cancers, Parkinson’s disease, and other nervous system problems, among much else.1,2

It’s worthwhile remembering at this point that coffee isn’t just caffeine — hundreds of different substances comprise coffee, and these contribute to its taste and aroma. It’s quite likely that these have something to do with the above health benefits.

Is it all good news?

Not exactly. Coffee does reduce iron and zinc absorption, raise blood pressure, and sometimes cause sleep disturbance. Current thinking suggests that pregnant and breastfeeding women, to be on the safe side, shouldn’t drink more than 300mg of caffeine daily (that’s about 3 cups of coffee). Children and adolescents would be better restricted to about 3mg of caffeine per kilo of body weight. However, since Australian children don’t normally drink coffee (which children in other countries often do, even from an early age), limiting the amount of caffeinated drinks is more appropriate (to less than one can per day).

The take-away message?

Coffee isn’t bad for your health; in fact, it’s rather good for you. Don’t overdo it, and you’re likely to live longer.